Syrian army allows pre-2011 conscripts to return home

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighters ride a military vehicle after Free Syrian Army forces took control of Kafr Jana village, north of Afrin, Syria March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Syria’s army has issued orders to return home for men conscripted for compulsory service in 2010, the year before war broke out, fighters and local media said yesterday.

The decision ends the drawn-out deployment of thousands of Syrians who enlisted for the mandatory 18 months of military service in 2010, but who ended up serving for eight years because of the war.

The decision comes in the wake of a string of military gains around the capital Damascus and in the central province of Homs.